Videos

To truly understand what's happening in this fight, you need to consider the context of the bout, provided by MMA Videos:

Word on the street is that Ben Spikers prank called Renzo all night in his hotel room, in the press conference, taunted him, and insulted him by saying Renzo’s eyes look like Ben’s girlfriend’s eyes. See what Renzo does after the fight.

You also have to consider that this was back in the days of headbutts and groin strikes, so how much civility can you really expect from your opponent?  Check out referee Cecil Peoples admonishing Gracie for his post-fight show of dominance and disrespect.  Huh, so apparently there was a time when Cecil actually paid attention to what was happening in a fight.  Who knew?

Since we recently went back in time to celebrate one of Thiago Alves's past triumphs, it seems only right that we do the same for Georges St. Pierre as we build up to their title fight at UFC 100.  At UFC 56 GSP met Sean Sherk, who had never been finished in his pro career.  Looking back now it seems kind of absurd that he ever competed at welterweight; his reach is a hindrance even at 155.  GSP not only outstruck him on the feet, but also just plain outwrestled him, much to Sherk's surprise.  It's not quite as sexy as dropping an opponent with one big bomb, but it's methodical and it's dependable.  Makes you wonder, will it be GSP's wrestling ability that makes the difference against Alves, or will he have a harder time getting someone his own size down to the mat?

(Props: computercowboytv via FiveOunces.)

Allow us to translate for those who don't speak jive:

Computer: Hey everybody, it's Computer. You may remember me as the personal assistant from Three Six Mafia's old reality show, Adventures in Hollyhood. I'm here with my friend Quinton Jackson. Quinton, would you like to say a few words?

Jackson: Hey guys, Rampage here. My friend Computer and I are from the Southern United States; you should already know what that implies. By the way, I punch people in their mouths. I know, it's not really relevant to the conversation at hand, but I'm a little intoxicated, and it's what I do.

(Props: 'SmashedAceHole' on the UG. Fight starts at the 3:03 mark.)

Before he was the UFC's #1 welterweight contender and a Fight! magazine cover-boy, Thiago Alves was just a young scrapper whose last name was consistently butchered by announcers and commentators. Alvs's Alvarez's Pitbull's eighth pro MMA match took place at a King of the Cage event in Cleveland back in February 2005, where he faced then-undefeated Jeff Cox, who entered the cage sporting maroon Aokipants and a hairstyle that might be described as a "nohawk." After missing a head kick, Alves grabbed a Thai clinch and found Cox's snooze-button with a knee to the chin. He then fired punches into Cox's grill until Herb Dean dove on to stop the abuse. Alves caught the attention of the UFC with the 15-second KO win, and would make his Octagon debut eight months later. All Cox got was the shame of waking up in Cleveland wearing red tights.

(Props: MMA Mania)

"It's finding what's called a 'safety zone', and that's a place that when he's in trouble he goes to. It could be a clinch, it could be a takedown, it could be kickboxing, wherever he feels comfortable and safe. And then you have three ways of getting around it, you can either avoid it, nullify it, or smash it...hopefully we'll be able to exploit [Thiago Alves's safety zone] and move around it."

In this FOX Fight Game interview, Georges St. Pierre's trainer Greg Jackson discusses one of the most important elements of his famous game-plans — attacking an opponent not where he's strongest or weakest, but what he falls back on when things get rough. He wouldn't name what he thinks Alves's safety zone is, though he does admit that Alves's left knee and left hook are weapons to be feared. Also in the interview, Jackson describes game-planning as a structure that "the artist" has to be able to work within, and talks about the crucial balance between cooperation and competition that exists at his gym. GSP and Pitbull are scheduled to get it on in 11 days at UFC 100.